Introduction
Durham Cathedral is founded on the shrine of St Cuthbert, an Anglo-Saxon saint who was Bishop of Lindisfarne in the 7th century. How he came to his last resting place in Durham at the turn of the 11th century, after over a century of wandering, is told in the story of the Dun Cow.
THE monks who cared for the coffin and body of St Cuthbert decided (this was in 995, during the reign of Ethelred the Unready) that they would take the saint back from Ripon to Chester-le-Street, where he had rested through much of the previous century.
They had reached Warden Law, not six miles from home, when their waggon suddenly stopped, and defied every effort to move it. Abbot Aldhun urged them to prayer and fasting for three days, and they were rewarded with the revelation that the coffin must be carried to Dunholm.*
Unfortunately, none of the monks had ever heard of it.
They decided to strike a westward path. After some miles, they heard a dairy-maid tell a neighbour that her cow had wandered off, and the neighbour reply that a loose cow had been seen in Dunholm. So Aldhun and his companions followed the dairy-maid to Dunholm, where they built the White Church as a new home for their beloved saint.
Dunholm is made up of ‘dūn’, an Old English word meaning a wide-topped, low hill, related to ‘dune’ and ‘down’ (as in the Sussex Downs); and ‘holmr’, an Old Scandinavian word for an island or promontory. Durham Cathedral stands on just such a low hill within a bend of the River Wear. ‘Dun’ in the phrase ‘dun cow’ is a different Old English word, meaning ‘dull brown’.
Précis
In 995, monks looking for a home for the body of St Cuthbert learnt by prayer that they must take him to Dunholm, not Chester-le-Street as they intended. They had no idea where Dunholm was, until they overhead a dairy-maid talking about it. They followed her, and Durham Cathedral now stands on the spot they chose for their church. (59 / 60 words)
In 995, monks looking for a home for the body of St Cuthbert learnt by prayer that they must take him to Dunholm, not Chester-le-Street as they intended. They had no idea where Dunholm was, until they overhead a dairy-maid talking about it. They followed her, and Durham Cathedral now stands on the spot they chose for their church.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: despite, just, may, or, ought, unless, whereas, whether.
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Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Companion. Off. Saint.
2 After. Unfortunate. Urge.
3 Dairy. Effort. Sudden.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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